[Timeline: Second Hokage Era]
[Time Period: Year 17 of Konoha]
[Unification Progress: 18%]
Hashirama felt his body flicker—and in an instant, he vanished from the Hokage's office and appeared in the middle of a dense forest.
Flying Thunder God Jutsu?
No. This had to be an even more advanced space-time technique!
The Flying Thunder God couldn't just yank someone away without a seal.
Was this the power of that man's Rinnegan?
As for whether this might be a genjutsu? Hashirama was confident. He at least had the ability to distinguish illusions.
Even Madara's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't trap him for more than a moment.
If this really was a genjutsu several times stronger than Madara's, well… he'd just have to accept defeat.
"Where is this?"
"Seventeen years in the future. Within the Land of Lightning's borders."
"The Hidden Cloud Village you mentioned earlier—that's the shinobi village the Land of Lightning established later?"
"Correct."
Hashirama was utterly shocked. He'd actually been brought seventeen years into the future?! Was this man truly a god on par with the Sage of Six Paths?!
Still, he was the God of Shinobi. Hashirama quickly calmed himself down.
After all, he hadn't forgotten his main objective: finding out how Tobirama died.
Hashirama closed his eyes and briefly extended his sensory perception.
He instantly locked onto Tobirama's chakra signature in the distance.
Then, desperate to save his little brother, he flickered toward that location without hesitation.
Kai shook his head. These brother-complex guys are seriously high-maintenance. The moment they hear 'little bro's in danger,' they'll tear the whole world apart.
No helping it.
As a regular human with no powers yet, there was no way Kai could keep up with Hashirama's speed. He had no choice but to activate [World Transfer] again.
Several hundred meters away.
Hashirama had just landed on the thick branch of a large tree when Kai teleported right beside him.
Kai gestured for him to stay quiet and hidden.
Hashirama obeyed, then looked toward the grassy clearing below.
At this moment, Universe Two's Second Hokage Senju Tobirama was huddled together with his elite guard squad, discussing escape strategies.
"That's really Tobirama? He looks so much older! His chakra isn't what it used to be either. That chakra signature—he's injured, isn't he?"
"And those two—that's Sarutobi and Danzo?! There's even an Uchiha member with them? They all have impressive chakra. They look so much more mature and reliable now. Tobirama trained a fine batch of students!"
Hashirama recognized Sarutobi and the others at a glance, silently marveling at how much they'd changed.
Still, he was happy to see Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others had grown so much.
"Sir, what's happening with Tobirama and the others?"
Hashirama turned to ask, completely confused about the current situation. After all, this was likely many years in the future—he had no context.
Kai gave him a brief explanation:
It was Year 17 of Konoha, during the First Great Ninja War.
The Second Raikage had tried to launch a surprise attack on Konoha after Hashirama's death, but was beaten back by the Second Hokage Tobirama and Konoha's forces.
Seeing the tide turn against him, the Second Raikage decided to negotiate peace. But his subordinates—the Kinkaku and Ginkaku Brothers—opposed the treaty. The Second Raikage ignored them and proceeded with peace talks anyway. During the negotiation meeting, Kinkaku and Ginkaku assassinated him. They also ambushed and critically wounded Senju Tobirama, then continued pursuing him and his squad with their elite forces.
Unable to evacuate all six of his guards while severely injured, Tobirama chose to stay behind as bait—while also using the situation to test his subordinates' resolve. Danzo wanted to volunteer as the decoy, but at the critical moment, fear held his tongue.
Then Hiruzen stepped forward, willing to sacrifice himself as bait. Tobirama praised Hiruzen's action and named him the next Hokage.
In the end, Tobirama died heroically while covering Hiruzen and the others' escape.
Hashirama watched everything unfold below, muttering quietly to himself:
"Testing his subordinates at a time like this… yeah, that's exactly something Tobirama would do."
"Though he probably already decided Sarutobi would be the next Hokage, right? This test is just to make the team trust Sarutobi more."
"And that Danzo kid—his hands are trembling. He has the impulse, but he's still afraid of death. Well, that's only natural. Fear of death is human instinct. Death isn't something easily overcome!"
"Everything Madara, Tobirama, and I have done was to prevent wave after wave of children from facing such cruel life-or-death choices on the battlefield…"
"But Sarutobi… he's truly grown into a brave shinobi."
"I'm sure he'll become an excellent Hokage!"
Kai sneered internally.
Just wait until you meet this 'excellent monkey' and his absolute dogshit advisory council next time—after they completely wipe out the entire Senju Clan in just twenty or thirty years.
Then you'll know what 'excellent' really means.
But to be fair, at least Sarutobi and Danzo during this period could genuinely be called excellent.
Merit doesn't cancel out sin. Achievements can't erase crimes committed. And crimes committed in the latter half of their lives can't bury the sacrifices they made for the village in this moment.
Soon, the six guards departed.
Only Senju Tobirama remained, setting traps and acting as bait to delay the Kinkaku-Ginkaku pursuit squad.
His condition was terrible.
More than half his chakra was depleted. His internal organs were displaced. Just moments ago, he'd been forcing himself to maintain the dignity of a Hokage in front of Sarutobi and the others through sheer willpower alone.
He could only blame himself and the Second Raikage for being careless.
The Second Raikage never imagined his own subordinates would dare backstab him. And Tobirama never imagined the Raikage would be backstabbed by his subordinates! That's what turned the peace conference into a trap.
As for the ambush? Well, everything made sense now.
Even Six Paths Madara got his heart ripped out by Black Zetsu!(TL/N: Referring to the infamous backstab in the original series)
Though gravely injured and staying behind as bait, Tobirama had no intention of giving up easily.
He was the Second Hokage, damn it! At the very least, he'd cripple Cloud's pursuit squad—and kill one of the Kinkaku-Ginkaku brothers to ensure Sarutobi and the others made it back to Konoha alive.
'If only Big Brother were still here.'
'These third-rate clowns wouldn't even have the guts to start a war!'
Tobirama sighed as he continued setting traps.
At the same time, up in the tree branches, Hashirama's heart ached watching his brother's lonely figure below.
He couldn't imagine his proud little brother looking this isolated and battered.
"Are those Cloud ninja—Kinkaku and Ginkaku—really that strong? I've never heard of them."
Hashirama asked quietly.
Back when Tobirama killed Izuna, he was vicious as hell. One 'whoosh'—job done, easy.
Kai explained simply: "They wield Six Paths Ninja Tools and have part of the Nine-Tails' chakra. Their strength is roughly on par with an average Kage. Normally, your brother could wipe the floor with both of them…"
"Then why—?"
"Probably got ambushed. 'He was careless and didn't dodge.'" (TL/N: Chinese meme from a fighting game, basically "got hit because he wasn't paying attention")
"I see!"
Hashirama nodded in understanding. Sneak attacks were truly despicable.
But after a brief pause, he added:
"Still, Tobirama's really slipped. I can't let him lock himself away researching Forbidden Jutsu anymore when we get back. I'll make sure he trains his combat skills properly!"
Just then—
"Swish swish swish—"
Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and a squad of elite Cloud ninja burst onto the battlefield.
Seeing the enemy arrive, Hashirama panicked.
With his level of skill, he could accurately judge that in Tobirama's current terrible condition, he likely wasn't a match for this Cloud ninja squad.
If he wanted to save Tobirama, he'd have to act!
But could he act?
He was apparently sixteen years in the future right now. Wouldn't interfering recklessly cause some kind of disaster?
Hashirama turned to look at Kai, his eyes filled with urgency—seeking approval from this 'suspected god.'
"Don't rush. Wait a bit before making your move."
"Let your arrogant little brother suffer a bit first."
A living Tobirama was indeed far more valuable than a dead one.
At the very least, he could better preserve Konoha's overall strength, making it easier to complete the unification quest in this Universe Two timeline.
And suffering a bit right now would stoke Tobirama's fury even more—making it easier to convince him to unify the ninja world later.
This was Kai's true purpose in bringing Hashirama to this exact moment in time.
To Be Continued.